Dunlop DBFS45125 SS Flatwounds

[John D Harris]

-- Public Service Announcement --

I am really loving the Dunlop DBFS45125 SS Flatwounds that I bought back in January of 2025 and put them on my Cort B5 Element August 18, 2025 (so I've had them on a few months and I play everyday).

I don't know if I've adjusted to the tension or if adjusting the bass set up better helped, - I notice the tension now, but it doesn't really bother me.

My experience is more tension = punchier!

Boatloads of punch with these.

I love the frequency balance and the feel.

The harmonic content will always be different between non-dead roundwounds and any flatwounds, but I really like what these strings put out!

I usually back the treble down a small amount with these, so they do have IMO, plenty of upper midrange for a flatwound - similar to the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats!

I bet they would sound good on most any bass guitar, but I wish I'd tried these when I still had my EB MM StringRay 5.

They are not cheap, but I'm hoping that my string search has ended with these.

[Full disclosure - if I owned another bass guitar, I'd be experimenting with various roundwound sets, which is what I've played for most of my 27 years of playing bass guitar.]

Strings used in the past (all 5 string sets):
EB Slinky Nickle RW
DR Lo-Rider SS RW
DR Lo-Rider Nickle RW
D'Addario Nickle RW
DR Sunbeams RW
Rotosound RS775LD Monel FW
EB Cobalt FW - sounded pretty good to me initially, but got harsh in the midrange after a while; also these did not like my body chemistry; I'd clean them daily and they still felt grungy.
~~~~
My favorite RW was the DR Lo-Rider Nickel RW.
The Dunlop SS FW's are the BOMB!!!
Highly recommended!

 

[John D Harris]

-- Public Service Announcement --

I am really loving the Dunlop DBFS45125 SS Flatwounds that I bought back in January of 2025 and put them on my Cort B5 Element August 18, 2025 (so I've had them on a few months and I play everyday).

I don't know if I've adjusted to the tension or if adjusting the bass set up better helped, - I notice the tension now, but it doesn't really bother me.

My experience is more tension = punchier!

Boatloads of punch with these.

I love the frequency balance and the feel.

The harmonic content will always be different between non-dead roundwounds and any flatwounds, but I really like what these strings put out!

I usually back the treble down a small amount with these, so they do have IMO, plenty of upper midrange for a flatwound - similar to the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats!

I bet they would sound good on most any bass guitar, but I wish I'd tried these when I still had my EB MM StringRay 5.

They are not cheap, but I'm hoping that my string search has ended with these.

[Full disclosure - if I owned another bass guitar, I'd be experimenting with various roundwound sets, which is what I've played for most of my 27 years of playing bass guitar.]

Strings used in the past (all 5 string sets):
EB Slinky Nickle RW
DR Lo-Rider SS RW
DR Lo-Rider Nickle RW
D'Addario Nickle RW
DR Sunbeams RW
Rotosound RS775LD Monel FW
EB Cobalt FW - sounded pretty good to me initially, but got harsh in the midrange after a while; also these did not like my body chemistry; I'd clean them daily and they still felt grungy.
~~~~
My favorite RW was the DR Lo-Rider Nickel RW.
The Dunlop SS FW's are the BOMB!!!
Highly recommended!

sWeeTwaTer as of this date do not carry these - no idea why not.

I bought my set from GimmeSomeStrings through aMaZoN for less $$ than the current price.

I just checked and they are still selling them through aMaZoN, but so is aMaZoN at the same price as the 3rd party vendor (currently about $10.50 more than what I did in January, 2025), but I'd rather support small business.

 

[GIBrat51]

Glad you like the Dunlops. I had the short scale Dunlop Flats put on my 30" scale Serek Sacramento when they built it, just as an experiment. I've had it for about 18 months now, and... yeah, I'm liking them a lot. I've played mostly stiff flats for the last 50+ years, so to me? The Dunlops are just... normal, compared to all the other short scale flats I use. But, yeah; they are nice strings, for sure. And, yes, they are fairly pricey. Not like my Dogal Helborg Flats, but definitely not the cheapest flats, either...

 

[Yahboy]

-- Public Service Announcement --

I am really loving the Dunlop DBFS45125 SS Flatwounds that I bought back in January of 2025 and put them on my Cort B5 Element August 18, 2025 (so I've had them on a few months and I play everyday).

I don't know if I've adjusted to the tension or if adjusting the bass set up better helped, - I notice the tension now, but it doesn't really bother me.

My experience is more tension = punchier!

Boatloads of punch with these.

I love the frequency balance and the feel.

The harmonic content will always be different between non-dead roundwounds and any flatwounds, but I really like what these strings put out!

I usually back the treble down a small amount with these, so they do have IMO, plenty of upper midrange for a flatwound - similar to the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats!

I bet they would sound good on most any bass guitar, but I wish I'd tried these when I still had my EB MM StringRay 5.

They are not cheap, but I'm hoping that my string search has ended with these.

[Full disclosure - if I owned another bass guitar, I'd be experimenting with various roundwound sets, which is what I've played for most of my 27 years of playing bass guitar.]

Strings used in the past (all 5 string sets):
EB Slinky Nickle RW
DR Lo-Rider SS RW
DR Lo-Rider Nickle RW
D'Addario Nickle RW
DR Sunbeams RW
Rotosound RS775LD Monel FW
EB Cobalt FW - sounded pretty good to me initially, but got harsh in the midrange after a while; also these did not like my body chemistry; I'd clean them daily and they still felt grungy.
~~~~
My favorite RW was the DR Lo-Rider Nickel RW.
The Dunlop SS FW's are the BOMB!!!
Highly recommended!

On my personal experience, Dunlop flatwound sound lot different to cobalt flat , especially when break in. .

Since both MK1 pickup placement are more close to bridge on Cort b5 element , it possible make Dunlop flatwound sound different when compare to his cousin ~ ibanez SR505, or 2009 korean sr705 which has same MK1 pickup but place more to neck side.

Anyway, happy to hear you found a matching flat and enjoy.

 

[John D Harris]

On my personal experience, Dunlop flatwound sound lot different to cobalt flat , especially when break in. .

Since both MK1 pickup placement are more close to bridge on Cort b5 element , it possible make Dunlop flatwound sound different when compare to his cousin ~ ibanez SR505, or 2009 korean sr705 which has same MK1 pickup but place more to neck side.

Anyway, happy to hear you found a matching flat and enjoy.

To me the Dunlop FW's sound smoother than the EB CF's while preserving note definition, and are a bit punchier!

The CF's 'B' strings are just ever so slightly less tubby sounding, but you wouldn't notice it in a band setting.

Glad you like the Dunlops. I had the short scale Dunlop Flats put on my 30" scale Serek Sacramento when they built it, just as an experiment. I've had it for about 18 months now, and... yeah, I'm liking them a lot. I've played mostly stiff flats for the last 50+ years, so to me? The Dunlops are just... normal, compared to all the other short scale flats I use. But, yeah; they are nice strings, for sure. And, yes, they are fairly pricey. Not like my Dogal Helborg Flats, but definitely not the cheapest flats, either...

Cool!